Marketing Professional Educational Training in Chicago, IL - AEMO HQ

THIS IS A Sources Sought Notice ONLY.

 The U.S. Government desires to procure professional educational training in Chicago, Illinois, within 5 miles of the AEMO HQ, on the latest practices and techniques for marketing professionals. The contractor shall provide all personnel and services necessary to perform in accordance with (IAW) the terms and conditions of the contract and consistently with the established standards in this PWS and contract for the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York on a small business set-aside basis, provided 2 or more qualified small businesses respond to this source sought synopsis with information sufficient to support a set-aside.  Be advised that the U.S. Government will not be able to set aside this requirement if 2 or more small businesses do not respond with information to support the set-aside.  We encourage all small businesses in all socioeconomic categories, including 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, and Women-Owned Small Business, to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement at a fair market price.

This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future.  This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service.  Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this sources sought notice.  The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder.  Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued.  If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Governmentwide Point of Entry.  It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor the Governmentwide Point of Entry for additional information pertaining to this requirement.  The anticipated NAICS code is 611310 – Colleges, University and Professional School.

A need is anticipated for Marketing Professional Educational Training in Chicago, Illinois, within 5 miles of the AEMO HQ. Attached is the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS).

In response to this source sought, please provide:

1.  Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, SAM’s Unique Entity Identifier, CAGE code, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.), and the corresponding NAICS code.

2.  Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not.  Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any.

3.  Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination.

4.  Information to help determine if the requirement service is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information (e.g., market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc.

5.  Identify how the Army can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns.

6.  Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition.  Please contact the MICC Advocate for Competition, Dayanna Wallace, at Dayanna.Wallace.civ@army.mil,  if you believe that this action is unreasonably restricting competition.  Include the subject of the acquisition, this announcement, and the MICC POC information from the SAM.gov notice.  Provide the specific aspects that unreasonably restrict competition and the rationale for such conclusion.

7.  Recommendations to improve the approach/specifications to acquiring the identified items.

8. Please send all responses no later than Monday 05 May 2025 at 1200 hrs. ET to Dayanna Wallace, at Dayanna.Wallace.civ@army.mil, and be sure to include the Sources Sought Notice in your email subject line.

Request for Information (RFI)

Questions from Interested Vendors

Q1 -  More specific details about what you are looking for in terms of the training content, delivery format, and the ideal candidate's qualifications.

A1- We are looking for training material that is on-par with MBA executive education training provided by a top-10 MBA program, but tailored to the Army Enterprise Marketing Office's personnel, specific mission, and place within the industry. The vendor must conduct focus groups with the client (AEMO Chicago) prior to the start of instruction in order to determine the organization's pain points and requirements for growth, and craft a curriculum that addresses these findings. A comparable level of content and detail would be something like Harvard Business School's 1-week "Creating Brand Value" course (https://usg01.safelinks.protection.office365.us/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.exed.hbs.edu%2Fcreating-brand-value&data=05%7C02%7CDAYANNA.WALLACE.CIV%40army.mil%7C5baf9d259e2942840c6008dd866d4ced%7Cfae6d70f954b481192b60530d6f84c43%7C0%7C0%7C638814526216871623%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=KIBH2ii1F34GW8k93lnC4m0%2B7Hjo3iBtmrSWNtlDcNM%3D&reserved=0), or more appropriately, Stanford GSB's "Develop a Program for Your Organization" (https://usg01.safelinks.protection.office365.us/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gsb.stanford.edu%2Fexec-ed%2Forganizations%2Fcustom-programs&data=05%7C02%7CDAYANNA.WALLACE.CIV%40army.mil%7C5baf9d259e2942840c6008dd866d4ced%7Cfae6d70f954b481192b60530d6f84c43%7C0%7C0%7C638814526216885814%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5jNZWIVmw6zHX9pu1Sn0TI5zMucW5zvO3YuJOA0tixk%3D&reserved=0). The delivery format will be in person, on-location in Chicago within 5 miles of the AEMO headquarters (as per the PWS). Candidate qualifications must include a mix of industry experience, research, and current status as an instructor at a top-10 MBA program. Multiple instructors are preferred, all of whom should have a different specialty and focus related to marketing.

Q2- The PWS mentions the educational training that AEMOs received during 2024.  Since this new Sources Sought, solicitation is meant to build upon that training and the associated materials, when will the extent and scope of those materials be made known and available for review?  Can you share the name of the course/contractor that provided those materials and what the contract number was?

A2- Per the PWS, "If Contractor does not possess this knowledge, they must obtain it prior to the start of training, at Contractor's own expense." From our perspective, any vendor who does not already possess this knowledge must conduct focus groups with the personnel at AEMO to determine not only what their pain points and growth opportunities are, but also what the previous year's contract covered.